Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster, Nickie Aiken, spoke out in the House of Commons to lead calls to hold the Metropolitan Police to account following the decision by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services to put the force into special measures.
In a question to the Minister for Policing, Kit Malthouse MP, Nickie said,
"I pay tribute to the thousands of police officers who do a great job in providing service to Londoners, but they need robust and focused leadership, and I think it is clear that we are still in need of that. We are now on our third commissioner in six years, soon to be fourth, but we have had the same Mayor of London and the same deputy mayor for the past six years. Does my right hon. Friend think that there should be more political accountability and that perhaps one of those two characters should think about their role moving forward?"
Responding, Minister for Policing, Kit Malthouse MP, said,
"The creation of police and crime commissioners was designed to provide a focused point of accountability for the electorate. They replaced police authorities, which were opaque organisations in which no one person could be held responsible at the ballot box. As I said, if I had been in that job—I had the privilege of holding the post of deputy mayor for policing for four years—and I had had it for six years when this situation occurred, I would consider my position."
